I mentioned yesterday that “true grit” is one of the characteristics for those who do well in Oklahoma. Perhaps closely akin to that that is determination. Maybe it is “true grit and determination” that equips one to occasionally courageously weather tornados, snow and ice storms and at times consecutive days-on-end without electricity. Is determination the vehicle that results in true grit?
It is not that I am a “wannabe resident” of the land north of the Red River, but I wasn’t going to yield to the road of no return either. I didn’t care how long it took, I was intent of “finding my way back”.
Truth be told, Robert Frost’s line rolled around in my head a couple of times last night. How did he express it? “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair…”
My rental car didn’t have a GPS system. For that matter, it didn’t have cruise control either. My brother told me that was going to be a mistake. I hate it when he is right and I have only myself to thank. At least I had the map application on my phone.
It worked well for most of the trip and then the audio portion dissipated into nothingness. I don’t remember how close I was to Larry’s home, but according to the blue line on my map application I was getting close. I turned on a toll road to expedite the process and that proved to be a never-ending mistake. Actually, I didn’t turn onto the toll road, the road I was traveling fed me into the toll road. Unfortunately, it was not heading the direction I needed to travel.
The blue line leading away from my brother’s home was growing exponentially. Looking at the hand held phone in my hand as I gripped the steering wheel, I could visually see that I was going the wrong direction, but I was powerless to alter my course. Finally, there was signage of a tollbooth – cash right lane.
If the fellow taking my cash had empathy for my situation, he masked it well. I mentioned that I had just driven eight miles in the wrong direction. He smiled and said, “You have twelve more to go”. Needing to clarify what I was hearing, I asked: “Are you telling me I cannot alter my direction for another twelve miles?” His two-word response was “Pretty much”.
By the time I got off the toll road, I was pretty much done with not having choices to turn here or there. I decided to take the road less traveled. I know what you are thinking. You’re thinking: “That wasn’t a smart choice”. Okay, so now my ability to drive 75 mph had just been reduced to a fraction of that amount. I’m not sure at what point I started hearing the sound of “dueling banjos” in the background, but I was convinced that I’d eventually come to a dead-end. No one could have been more surprised when I actually made my way back. My arrival was significantly later than I had anticipated.
Consequently, I slept in this morning. I heard my brother’s truck start when he headed to the breakfast club this morning. At least that was my assumption of where he was going. I looked at my phone. It was only 5:30. Why was he leaving so early? I didn’t know, but I drifted off to sleep again. It seemed like only a few seconds later, but I heard the truck again. I found that confusing.
Drifting back to sleep, I heard the truck for the third time before I was able to figure it out. The sound I was hearing was rolling thunder. It was not my brother’s truck. I drifted back off the sleep again and some would say, “I’ve become lazy in my old age.”
I’ll close by mentioning a lady I met this week who is the epitome of true grit and determination. She describes herself as semi-retired. I figure her need for people contact and a desire to help others keeps her going. Until recently, she shared her home with five dogs that didn’t have any awareness that they didn’t own the place. Now the pet population is down to four. Something tells me that the vacancy sign won’t stay up long.
By trade, she has a master’s degree in business administration and she’s “smart as a whip”. At least that is the way my brother describes her. She’s no longer working in the field where she once worked, but the career change has served her well. She’s doing a couple of things that are so far removed from anything I can imagine that I’m at a loss to know what each day must hold for her.
In fact, when I hear the world algebra, it isn’t a trigger for memories too precious to forget. It is more closely akin to thoughts of a chainsaw massacre. How does anyone gravitate toward teaching algebra?
Her other credentials have an interest for me because they are designed to eliminate pain and promote healing. She is now a practitioner of acupuncture. She seemed totally knowledgeable in the field of Chinese Medicine and in the space of an hour I was mesmerized by her knowledge. Wow!
Larry describes her as smart and knowledgeable. While I don’t refute that, kind and caring are the two words I would choose. It was a honor to meet her. In addition, she has a truckload of true grit and determination. Isn’t that the back- bone for folks flying high north of the Red River?
All My Best!
Don